Influential conservatives in Alberta are speculating that Jason Kenney – thought by many to be the frontrunner for the federal Tory leadership – could instead jump into provincial politics and be the white knight who unites the right and defeats Rachel Notley’s NDP in the next election.

Many conservatives are also wondering whether interim federal Tory Leader Rona Ambrose, who has garnered plaudits for her performance and has vowed not to run for the federal Conservative leadership, also might be thinking about a move to Alberta provincial politics.

It’s understood that Kenney has been approached by a range of people involved in Alberta conservative politics and that he supports their efforts to unite conservative activists to defeat the NDP.

It’s thought that Kenney has not ruled anything out as he listens to a number of people and reflects on his future. However, it’s believed that his focus remains on the renewal of the federal Conservative party and that he’s actively considering seeking the federal party leadership, but is in no hurry to jump into a race that could go on for another 18 months.

Kenney, the popular Calgary MP and former top lieutenant in Stephen Harper’s government, has flown under the radar since the Conservatives were relegated to the Official Opposition in the Oct. 19 federal election.

His low profile comes even as unite-the-right discussions intensify in Wild Rose Country. The Alberta NDP’s popularity has been on a steady decline amid tens of thousands of job losses in the oil and gas sector and widespread economic pain.

Kenney is widely seen as a frontrunner for the federal Conservative crown – if he wants the job. The federal Tories are expected to hold a leadership convention in the spring of 2017. But a Kenney campaign for the federal Tory leadership appears far from given.

With informal conversations underway in Alberta among some MLAs, political operatives and grassroots members about uniting the provincial Tories and Wildrose party, many conservatives hope Kenney will jump in and lead a united conservative party back into the premier’s office in 2019.

Kenney did not provide comment when contacted by the Citizen. The MP has given no public indication he has an interest in moving to provincial politics. Multiple sources actively involved in Alberta federal and provincial politics say Kenney is playing his cards very close to his chest.

However, some activists in the Wildrose and PC parties in Alberta believe he is a slam-dunk to lead an Alberta “Conservative Party” (or some other united right-of-centre movement) if he decides to pursue it.

“Kenney is sort of the last giant standing in Alberta politics on the right,” said one Alberta conservative closely watching the nascent unite-the-right discussions in that province. “If he decided to make some kind of move, it would be seismic,” said the source, who declined to be named.

If he made the move, Kenney would lead a new united party, many think, rather than run for the vacant PC leadership or go after the leadership of the Wildrose party, currently held by his former federal Conservative colleague, Brian Jean.

Kenney was devastated by the federal election defeat, some longtime Conservatives say, but also by the fact many of the electoral gains he helped cultivate over a decade among ethnic voters were lost to the Liberals. He told Ambrose he did not want a critic role in the Conservative caucus, as he tried to regroup and figure out his next steps.

Meanwhile, after more than a decade of Harper leading the federal Conservatives, many in the party believe they’ll have a better chance at regaining power in four years with a leader from outside Alberta.

Also a factor is the possibility that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, holding a solid majority now, could run the federal government for more than one term, shutting the Tories out for potentially eight years.

There are real hopes in Alberta that the PCs and Wildrose can unite under the right leader.

Ken Boessenkool, who held senior roles on multiple federal Conservative election campaigns and was actively involved in the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties into the Conservative Party of Canada, says he, like a lot of Albertans, wants the two parties to co-operate.

Boessenkool said his two favourite politicians in Alberta are interim PC leader Ric McIver and Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt.

“Like a lot of people, I don’t want to work hard on Alberta politics until the people I like the most are working together,” he said. “Jason Kenney has earned the right over the last 10 years to do whatever in politics he thinks he should do. I think he would have broad support whatever he decides to do.”

Discussions about uniting the right in Alberta are in their very early stages. Fildebrandt and Progressive Conservative MLA Mike Ellis held a beer night in mid-December in Calgary so conservatives of various stripes could discuss the future of the two parties.

Jean, the Wildrose leader, said in December at a fundraising dinner that his party is reaching out to Progressive Conservatives in an effort to build a “consolidated conservative coalition” in Alberta.

Another source who has worked extensively in the conservative movement in Alberta and Ottawa said the “perfect storm” of an NDP win, weak provincial economy and Conservatives losing power in Ottawa has many on the right refocused on Alberta.

“They really want to talk about what’s going on in Alberta, they don’t really want to talk a lot about what’s going on federally because it’s kind of gross, and I think Jason is experiencing that in an acute way,” said the source.

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